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NDAA Update Oct 23, 2026: House members want forest bill in defense package

Two stories on Oct. 23: The Porterville Recorder on a Peters-, Whitesides- and Crank-led letter from 28 House members urging Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries and House Armed Services leaders to include the Fix Our Forests Act in the FY2027 NDAA, and Jewish Insider's Marc Rod on a Khanna-led letter from at least 30 Democratic colleagues urging House and Senate Armed Services chairs and ranking members negotiating the FY2027 NDAA to strip a U.S.-Israel cooperation provision, based on the U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act, that appears in both the House and Senate bills.

Bill status

No change in the bill's status: the House passed H.R. 8800 on July 22, 2026; S. 4784 has not reached the Senate floor; and the Senate is scheduled to return the week of November 9, after the November 3 election, with the NDAA deferred to the lame-duck session. Full timeline: FY2027 NDAA status · Did the NDAA pass? · NDAA 2027 status · What happens next.

The stories

House members want forest bill in defense package

The Porterville Recorder · Oct 23, 2026

On Friday, Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA), George Whitesides (D-CA) and Jeff Crank (R-CO) led 28 House members in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith urging inclusion of the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) in the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act, or at least another measure, so it becomes law this Congress. The members called wildfires a "significant – and growing – hazard to our military readiness and national security," citing fires around military installations in Washington and Arkansas that threatened weapons and munitions and forced the National Guard to divert man-hours to firefighting. In 2026 roughly 66,000 fires burned more than 9 million acres, more than 130 percent of the 10-year average; wildfires cost the U.S. between nearly $400 billion and almost $900 billion a year, and every $1 spent on prevention saves $3.75 in prevented damages. FOFA, they wrote, "is the only package that is bipartisan, bicameral, and has undergone a comprehensive committee process in both chambers of Congress." The House passed the bill in January 2025 and again in March 2026.

Ro Khanna to urge negotiators to pull U.S.-Israel cooperation provisions from defense bill

Jewish Insider · Oct 23, 2026

Marc Rod reports that Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and a group of at least 30 Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate are set to urge House and Senate leaders negotiating the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act to strip out a provision regarding U.S.-Israel cooperation, according to a draft of the letter viewed by Jewish Insider. Khanna's effort to remove the provision in the House Armed Services Committee was defeated by a voice vote, and House Republicans did not permit a vote on an amendment by Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) when the bill came to the House floor. The letter, gathering signatures through Nov. 6, appeals to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to strip the provision, versions of which are in both the House and Senate bills. It describes the provision as creating an "unprecedented integration of the United States defense industry with the defense industry of a foreign nation" and states, "These provisions would significantly reduce Congress' oversight of the U.S.-Israel defense relationship." If the provision is not removed entirely, the letter urges annual reauthorization, human rights conditions, and a counterintelligence certification before any technology transfer. The provision is based on the U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act. Supporters have emphasized that it would create no new programs nor provide for greater integration of the U.S. and Israeli militaries, and that it requires regular transparency reports to Congress and the public. Current signatories include Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Greg Casar (D-TX) and Joaquin Castro (D-TX).

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